With the AP exam quickly approaching, it is time to begin reviewing and refresh our minds of our studies from this year to help us make a 5 on the exam. This blog post will help in remembering the novels we have read throughout the course of the year and also how to pick and analyze themes from literature. Choosing from the list of books below that we have read, pick and analyze a theme in the work and explain its significance within the novel. “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” may be helpful in analyzing the themes. As usual, be sure to use textual evidence.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
The Metamorphosis
A Glass Menagerie
Heart of Darkness
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Hamlet
Ethan Frome
A Doll House
Their Eyes Were Watching God
The Metamorphosis
A Glass Menagerie
Heart of Darkness
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Hamlet
Ethan Frome
A Doll House
A Prayer for Owen Meany has many themes, one in particular that stands out to me is the "Christ Like" figure of Owen Meany. Owen represents A heavenly not from this world presence throughout the novel. "YOU ABSOLUTELY KNOW SHE'S THERE—EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN'T SEE HER?" he asked me.
ReplyDelete"Yes!" I screamed.
"WELL, NOW YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT GOD," said Owen Meany. "I CAN'T SEE HIM—BUT I ABSOLUTELY KNOW HE IS THERE!" (8.265-267)
Owen knows deep down in his soul that GOD exist but can not see or rationalize that he truly exists. it is Owen's faith that brings him close to God. "I DON'T WANT TO BE A HERO," said Owen Meany. "IT'S NOT THAT I WANT TO BE—IT'S THAT I AM A HERO. I KNOW THAT'S WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO BE."
"How do you know?" I asked him.
"IT'S NOT THAT I WANT TO GO TO VIETNAM—IT'S WHERE I HAVE TO GO. IT'S WHERE I'M A HERO. I'VE GOT TO BE THERE," he said.
"Tell him how you 'know' this, you asshole!" Hester screamed at him.
"THE WAY YOU KNOW SOME THINGS—YOUR OBLIGATIONS, YOUR DESTINY OR YOUR FATE," HE SAID. "THE WAY YOU KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO DO." (8.412-417) Vietnam is where Owen saves childrens lives and Owen is also seen as a ChristLike figure when he sacrifices hisown life to save Children that nuns were taking care of. This reitterates that Owen,Just like Jesus, sacrifices his own life for others, and not just anyone but in Owen's case orphaned children who were completely defenseless, so Owen took it into his own hands, and therefor put the situation in God's hands. Owen is ultimately a Christ Like Figure and it is seen throught A Prayer For Owen Meany.
The theme of entrapment is prevalent throughout Edith Wharton's novel, Ethan Frome, and it dominates the plotline of the book. This theme is established very early in the novel, as Harmon informs the narrator that Ethan has "'been in Starkfield too many winters'" because "'somebody had to stay and care for the folks'" (5). It is evident from the first chapter of the book on that Ethan's demise is largely due to his inability to leave the restricting setting that is his life in Starkfield. Not only is Ethan unable to move on to a better life, but Zeena and Mattie are as well. Zeena, being a "'sickly'" (27) woman, would simply not be able to support herself in a different city without her husband, Ethan. In addition, Zeena is entrapped at the end of the novel due to the accident, as "'she's had the strength given her to care for those two for over twenty years'" (131). The theme of entrapment furthermore applies to Mattie, who is a victim of circumstance and only lives at the Frome household in Starkfield because she has nowhere else to go. As Mattie and Ethan cannot move on from Starkfield, and their love for one another is entrapped by Zeena's suspicions, they decide to do the only thing they can: by attempting to commit suicide. As we know, this attempt fails, and it results in a worse fate than death for both of them: further entrapment in a town where they cannot succeed.
ReplyDeleteThe presence of a figure such as Janie Crawford defines the primary theme of Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God: feminism. Throughout the work, this powerful, independent African-American woman must try to shake the oppressive attitudes society has towards women and feminist individualism. Right out of the gates Janie’s bee and pear-blossom vision of life is shattered, “She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman.” Her struggles to find a man to support her (ironically enough, by fostering her free-spirited persona) repeatedly squander her hopes for a partnership of respect, not of economical or social motivations, “Womenfolks is easy taken advantage of…What yuh needs is uh man dat yuh done lived uhround and know all about tuh sort of manage yo’ things fuh yuh and generally do round.” Yet, Janie never fully submits to the will of society around her, and the reader gets the impression that her three relationships with Logan, Joe, and Tea Cake are (again…ironically) exactly what she needs to grow and define herself as a woman. Each offers a new opportunity for her to learn about herself and her relationships, with Tea Cake being her closest chance at true love. After losing Tea Cake, many hypothesize that Janie, either through some sense of satisfaction or an epiphany, ends her secular quest for love. This brings the theme full circle, as Janie realizes that she has reached a state of spiritual contentedness.
ReplyDeleteThroughout history, societies have believed that women are subordinate to men. In There Eyes were Watching God, Janie must live under this repression. However Janie does not allow this to stop her quest for true love, unlike her contemporaries that married because of obligation. In the novel, a central theme is the rebellion against society’s marital standard. At first Janie succumbs to these standards; she marries Logan, a man whom her grandmother wanted her to marry to protect her from destroying her virtue. But after the incompatibility is shown, she leaves him for a random passerby, Joe. This starts her break from society’s standards. Yet, it is one of the most fundamental steps to her happiness. Joe, the sweet talker, gains a great fortune, which boosts himself and Janie up to the top-tier of society. But because he emotional abuses Janie, she learns that society’s standard for wealth in a marriage is pointless. This leads her to a happy mourning for his death, and a falling in love with a poor, young man. Tea Cake loves Janie and Janie loves Tea Cake. Their unconditional love completely breaks society’s marital standards. Yet, it is the most successful of her marriages. Thus, the theme of throwing out societal standards for true love is a prevalent theme in the work.
ReplyDeleteBetrayal is a prevalent theme in Metamorphosis. Whether it is wondering what others will think, or even recognizing that as a sister cannot love your own brother anymore. This event truly is unfortunate. Though this Metamorphosis was into a rather large beetle, this does not mean that this is all it refers to. If a person loves someone that much, their backs will never turn towards them. No matter how bad it gets they would be there, and in this book, when the family’s backs get turned towards him, he is betrayed. Betrayal seems to be easily achieved in life, but mending a heart is much harder. Metamorphosis allows insight into this experience, and depicts the once provider to a family being betrayed by the entire family. Metamorphosis uses this as a major theme because it is a major theme in life and happens multiple times throughout it. You may not become a bug, but people certainly change throughout the course of life, and Metamorphosis shows this.
ReplyDeleteREDIRECT: Analyze how an author of any of these books uses certain literary techniques to reinforce the theme. Show 2-4 examples of these literary techniques within the novel. The following link may help you:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/general/glossary.htm
Wil : Owen is definitely a Christ figure. His situation of going to Vietnam because of service to others is parallel to Jesus’ own crucifixion to forgive others’ sins.
ReplyDeleteJeff: I agree completely that the characters are trapped in Starkfeild, because of the frigid climate and mood. However, I think that the physical entrapment is there only to hide the mental entrapment. Ethan is stuck on the same family farm, because of the same need to take care of someone, that led Zena to the farm to begin with.
Brennen: I completely agree that Janie is the epitome of feminism. She sets her own standards for marriage. She also creates her own values and ignores the opinions of the town and the porch sitters.
Clayton: I concur. During a course of a life, people change and in the process backs are turned. Personally, in Metamorphosis I think the “back turning” is significant, because it is his family. If it had been a random person I do not think it would have affected him as much.
The theme of corruption and the evils of imperialism are the most relevant in “The Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad. It is quite possibly the sole reason for writing the novel. Conrad obviously disagrees with Britain’s Imperial means of colonization, and wrote “The Heart of Darkness” in order to make the public more aware of its evils without saying it directly or being too obvious. The primary literary technique that Conrad uses to illustrate his opinion on the subject of imperialism is character. He inserts himself into the novel through Marlow, who shares the same ideals as the author, but along with his partner Kurtz, is confused as to how to react. Another prevalent literary technique is allegory. The fact that Marlow and Kurtz are the only characters with names makes the lack of names in all the other characters an extensive metaphor for dehumanization.
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